Convertible seat bed



Nov. 20, 1962 c. R. NEWSOM m CONVERTIBLE SEAT BED Filed June 20, 1960 INVENTOR,

Patented Nov. 20, 1962 free 3,064,276 CONVERTBLE SEAT BED Charles R. Newsorn m, The Downtowners Motor Hotel, 160 Union Ave, Memphis, Tenn. Filed .lune 2t), 1966, Ser. No. 37,223 6 Claims. (Cl. 17)

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in convertible seat beds, particularly those of the type which are convertible from a seator sofa-like condition into an extended bed or sleeping condition, and which are particularly adapted for economizing space in localities such as small apartments, motels and similar locations.

Many attempts have been heretofore made to produce convertible seat bed structures for the purpose of economy of space to provide both a comfortable sleeping structure and a comfortable seating structure upon conversion. The prior efforts, however, have involved cumbersome and involved mechanisms in order to attempt to accomplish that purpose.

The present invention is characterized by an extraordinary simplicity in the structure by which it accomplishes its purpose of presenting a new and novel seat structure which is convertible into a new and novel bed for sleeping, and does so with a minimum of mechanisms in a most facile and useful way.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel seat-bed structure convertible from seating conditions to sleeping or bed condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a structure which includes a mattress utilizable as a part of the seating structure and which in seating condition of the device is in part housed within a chamber mounted in the base of the fixed body of the structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a device in which such a chamber comprises a guideway for directing the housing of the mattress structure.

A further object of the device is to provide such a structure in which a supporting fabric is connected at one end to the seat supporting structure and at its other end is connected to a spring-urged roller construction from which the fabric is extensible, upon outward movement of the seat supporting structure together with the mattress structure, so as to underlie the space between the seat-supporting structure and the fixed body of the 'unit to support the rear part of the mattress in extended bed position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a motor drive for extending and retracting the seatsupporting structure to and from seating condition, from and to bed or sleeping condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a motor drive, which comprises a motor driven worm, coupled with a traveler head mounted upon the seat-supporting structure, and the seat-supporting structure including a housing for the entry of the worm into the seat-supporting structure when the device has been moved into seating condition; and

A further object of the invention is generally to improve the design, construction and efficiency of convertible seat bed construction.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects of the present invention are accomplished and the manner of their accomplishment will be readily understood from the following specification upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the seat bed construction of the present invention in extended bed condition with certain parts broken away for purposes of illustration.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section as on the line 'IIII of FIG. 1, further illustrating details of the construction.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the device shown in seating condition and illustrating additional features of the structure.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating details of the control of the extensible mattress support.

Referring now to the drawings in which the various parts are indicated by numerals, the present device comprises a relatively fixed body 11 at the back of the device, body 11 including a back wall 13, top panel 15, bottom panel 17 and an intermediate panel 19. The opposite sides of body 11 are enclosed and at thelower portion of body 11, the sides extend substantially forwardly in side members 21.

Hinged as to top 15 at 23 is a cushion panel 25 to which is attached a back rest cushion 2.7. It will be observed that a chamber 29 is defined by top 15, intermediate panel 19, cushion panel 25 and the upper part of back wall 13, with access to chamber 29 being available through the hinged connection of panel 25 to top 15. Chamber 29 is useful for the temporary storage of items such as pillows, cushions and the like, as desired by the user.

The lower part of body 11 comprises a lower chamber 31, defined by intermediate panel 19, bottom panel 17 and the lower part of back wall 13. Lower chamber 31 is essentially forwardly open. Within lower chamber '13 a substantially C-shaped guideway 33 is formed, guide- Way 33 consisting preferably of a pair of arcuately curved guide plates 35, 36, which are preferably substantially concentrically formed and which are nested together in substantially equally spaced apart relationship to provide a uniform guideway 33. The guide plates 35, 36 are each essentially G-shaped and are themselves forwardly opened.

The lower portion of the innermost or smaller guide plate 36 terminates substantially at but spaced above the forward terminal of bottom wall 17 while the upper extremity of guide plate 36 is somewhat more abbreviated. Guide plate 35 merges into intermediate panel 19 and into bottom panel 17 substantially intermediate the lengths of those panels. Each of guide plates 35, 36 extends from side to side of body 11 and abuts against the opposite sides of the body member, and the guide plates are fixed to these side members.

Associated with the fixed body 11 is a shiftable seat support unit 38. Seat unit 38 comprises a spring section 39, which is supported for fore and aft movement as upon suitable roller supports 41. Roller supports 41 are preferably mounted substantially at the sides of seat support unit 38, and respectively preferably are fixed to hollow tubes 43, tubes 43 being fixed to and adjacent the sides of seat support unit 38 and underlying the same and with a pair of roller supports fixed to each of the hollow a) tubes. Telescoping within tubes 43 are rods 44, which at their rear ends are rigidly fixed to the lateral extremities of guide plate 36.

Seat support unit 38 is shiftable fore and aft, to and from a seating position, such as is shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, from and to an extended bed supporting position, such as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. At its rearward end, seat spring section 39 of support unit 38 is provided with a traveler head 45, and forwardly of traveler head 45, seat spring section 39 is open for the reception of a rotatable worm shaft 47, which is threadedly engaged with traveler head 45 and which is driven by a suitable motor 49 through a gear reduction 51, motor 49 being housed within lower chamber 31 and preferably seated upon the lowermost part of guide plate 36 as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Motor 49 is powered from a conventional source of power, not shown, as through inlet lines 53, which lead to a suitable push button switch 55 coupled as by leads 57 to the motor. It will be understood that motor 49 is a reversible motor, and upon activation of switch 55 when the device is in extended position the motor will be activated in order to rotate worm shaft 47 in one direction, and thereby to affect retraction of support unit 38 toward fixed body 11, whereas, when the device is in retracted seating position such as is shown in FIG. 3, the activation of the motor will be such as to oppositely operate worm shaft 47 so as to affect extension of seat support unit 38 away from fixed body 11.

In retracted seating'condition, such as is shown in FIG. 3, seat spring section 39 supports the forward part of a mattress pad 59. The mattress 59 extends rearwardly beyond seat spring section 39 into guideway 33, thence arcuately, and the rearward portion of mattress 59 is housed within and curved through guideway 33 in the retracted position as best shown in FIG. 3. With the device retracted into the seating position such as is shown in FIG. 3 the forward portion of mattress 59 sup ported upon seat section 39 extends forwardly beyond the back rest cushion 27 and provides a convenient and comfortable seating structure.

When it is desired to convert the seating structure, as shown in the retracted seating position of FIG. 3, into a bed position such as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, motor 49 is activated so as to rotate worm shaft 47 relative to traveler head 45 which is fixed to the seat unit 38, and in this manner to urge and drive the seat unit outward 7 and forwardly away from fixed body 11. In this moveunit 38, is being extended away from fixed body 11.

Mattress-supporting fabric 63 is in the retracted position shown in FIG. 3 and in FIG. 4 reeled upon a core 65, which is spring urged as by a suitable spring'67 to return into retracted coiled position such as is shown in FIG. 4. Core 65 and its enclosed spring 67 together with the coil of mattress-supporting fabric 63 are housed within a tubular housing 69 slotted as at '71 for the entrance to and exit from the housing of the fabric 63. Housing 69 is mounted adjacent the upper and forward end of guide plate 36, and the housing extends substantially from side to side of body 11 and is mounted therein.

As support unit 38 is moved outwardly away from body 11 under the drive of worm shaft 47, it carries with it the forward end of mattress-supporting fabric 63, drawing the same away from housing 69through slot 71 and against the action of return spring 67. As the unit moved outwardly to the ultimate position as shown in FIG. 2 the fabric is tightly extended between the seat support unit 38 and tubular housing 69, effecting a satisfactory support for the rearward part of mattress pad 59, as best shown in FIG. 2. It thus will be seen that by the present construction there is herein presented a convertible seat bed structure which may be converted from a seating condition conveniently to bed or sleeping condition, and such conversion may be effected by motor drive through a convenient control.

In this conversion the device is converted from the seating position in which the forward part of a mattress pad overlies a seat support structure, is driven outwardly through a worm shaft drive or similar mechanical connection until it is extended to bed condition, with the rearward part of the mattress pad in such extended condition being supported by a retractable mattress-supporting fabric. It will be understood that the mattresssupporting fabric, while here considered to be of fiber construction, may be of metallic construction without departing from this invention.

When it is desired to reconvert the unit from bed or sleeping condition into seating condition, it is obvious that a more simple reversing of the motor drive by the'ope'ration of switch 55 will accomplish a reversing of worm shaft 47 and thus a retraction of the seat support unit toward the fixed body .11 so as to retract the device into the seating condition shown in FIG. 3. In this operation the worm as it passes through the traveler head 45 is permitted to extend forwardly within the body of the seat support section 39, as best shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, and simultaneously mattress-supporting fabric 63 will be withdrawn into tubular housing 69 through the retracting action of spring 67 Thus it will be seen that there is presented a new and novel convertible seat bed construction which is extremely convenient for usage in limited quarters such as small apartments and motel accommodations.

I claim: V

1. A convertible sofa bed structure comprising a fixed body at the rear of the structure, a downwardly curved mattress-receiving guideway in the lower part of said body, said guideway being forwardly open at its upper end for mattress entry into and exit from said guideway and extending from side to side of said body, a rollersupported seat support unit shiftable fore and aft away from and toward said body, said unit including adjacent its opposite sides hollow tubes extending'fore and aft of said unit, forwardly extending rods telescopically engaging said tubes, said rods being fixed at their rear ends to said body, a mattress extending forwardly from the open upper end of said guideway overlying and at its forward end supported on said unit, a mattress supporting fabric web connected at its forward end to saidunit and at its rearward end retractably connected to said body at the level of the lower surfaceof said mattress and adjacent the forwardly open upper end of said guideway, spring means carried by said body urging retraction of said fabric web, said unit in extended bed position of said structure being spaced forwardly-away from said body, with said mattress extended into flat condition and said fabric web drawn from said body against the action of said spring means and supportingly underlying the rearward part of said mattress in the space between said unit and said body, reversible motor means mounted in said body, a worm shaft driven by said motor means, a traveler head fixed to said unit and threadedly engaging said shaft, for driving said unit to and from said extended bed position from and to a retracted seating position, said unit in said seating position being positioned in close adjacency to said body with said shaft extending into said unit and with said rods telescoped in said tubes, the rear- 7 ward part of said mattress being housed in said guideway and said fabric Web retracted in said body, and means for selectively energizing said motor means.

2. A convertible sofa bed structure comprising a fixed body at the rear of the structure, a downwardly curved mattress-receiving guideway in the lower part of said body, said guideway being forwardly open at its upper end for mattress entry into and exit from said guideway and extending from side to side of said body, said guideway comprising a pair of concentrically curved spaced apart plates, a roller-supported seat support unit shiftable fore and aft away from and toward said body, means connecting said unit to said body, a mattress extending forwardly from the open upper end of said guideway overlying and at its forward end supported on said unit, mattress supporting means connected to said unit and to said body at the level of the lower surface of said mattress and adjacent the forwardly open upper end of said guideway, spring means carried by said body urging retraction of said mattress supporting means, said unit in extended bed position of said structure being spaced forwardly away from said body, with said mattress extended into flat condition and said mattress supporting means drawn from said body against the action of said spring means and supportingly underlying the rearward part of said mattress in the space between said unit and said body, reversible motor means mounted in said body, a worm shaft driven by said motor means, a traveler head fixed to said unit and threadedly engaging said shaft, for driving said unit to and from said extended bed position from and to a retracted seating position, said unit in said seating position being positioned in close adjacency to said body with said shaft extending into said unit, the rearward part of said mattress being housed in said guideway between said plates and said mattress supporting means retracted in said body,.and means for selectively energizing said motor means.

3. A convertible sofa bed structure comprising a fixed body at the rear of the structure, a curved mattress-receiving guideway in the lower part of said body, said guideway being forwardly open at one end for mattress entry into and exit from said guideway and extending from side to side of said body, said guideway comprising a pair of concentrically curved spaced apart plates, said plates being substantially equally spaced throughout the width of said guideway, a roller-supported seat support unit shiftable fore and aft away from and toward said body, means connecting said unit to said body, a mattress extending forwardly from the open end of said guideway overlying and at its forward end supported on said unit, mattress supporting means connected to said unit and to said body, adjacent said forwardly open end of said guideway, said unit in extended bed position of said structure being spaced forwardly away from said body, with said mattress extended into fiat condition and said mattress supporting means drawn from said body and supportingly underlying the rearward part of said mattress in the space between said unit and said body, motor means, for driving said unit to and from said extended bed position from and to a retracted seating position, said unit in said seating position being positioned in close adjacency to said body, the rearward part of said mattress being housed in said guideway between said plates and said mattress supporting means retracted in said body, and means for selectively energizing said motor means.

4. A convertible sofa bed structure comprising a fixed body at the rear of the structure, a curved mattress-receiving guideway in said body, said guideway being forwardly open at one end for mattress entry into and exit from said guideway and extending from side to side of said body, a roller-supported seat support unit shiftable fore and aft away from and toward said body, said unit including adjacent its opposite sides hollow tubes extending fore and aft of said unit, forwardly extending rods telescopically engaging said tubes, said rods being fixed at their rear ends to said body, a mattress extending forwardly from the open end of said guideway overlying and at its forward end supported on said unit, mattress supporting means connected at its forward end to said unit and at its rearward end retractably connected to said body at the level of the lower surface of said mattress, spring means carried by said body urging retraction of said mattress supporting means, said unit in extended bed position of said structure being spaced forwardly away from said body, with said mattress extended into fiat condition and said mattress supporting means drawn from said body against the action of said spring means and supportingly underlying the rearward part of said mattress in the space between said unit and said body, reversible motor means mounted in said body for driving said unit to and from said extended bed position from and to a retracted seating position, said unit in said seating position being positioned in close adjacency to said body with said rods telescoped in said tubes, the rearward part of said mattress being housed in said guideway and said mattress support ing means retracted in said body, and means for selec tively energizing said motor means.

'5. A convertible sofa bed structure comprising a fixed body at the rear of the structure, a curved mattress-receiving guideway in said body, said guideway being forwardly open at one end for mattress entry into and exit from said guideway and extending from side to side of said body, a seat support unit shiftable fore and aft away from and toward said body, said unit including adjacent its opposite sides hollow tubes extending fore and aft of said unit, forwardly extending rods telescopically engaging said tubes, said rods being fixed at their rear ends to said body, a mattress extending forwardly from the open end of said guideway overlying and at its forward end supported on said unit, mattress supporting means connected at its forward end to said unit and at its rearward end retractably connected to said body at the level of the lower surface of said mattress, means carried by said body urging retraction of said mattress supporting means, said unit in extended bed position of said structure being spaced forwardly away from said body, with said mattress extending into flat condition and said mattress supporting means drawn from said body against the action of said retraction means and supportingly underlying the rearward part of said mattress in the space between said unit and said body, means mounted on said body for shifting said unit to and from said extended bed position from and to a retracted seating position, said unit in said seating position being positioned in close adjacency to said body with said rods telescoped in said tubes, the rearward part of said mattress being housed in said guideway and said mattress supporting means retracted in said body.

6. A convertible sofa bed structure comprising a fixed body at the rear of the structure, a mattress-receiving guideway in said body, said guideway being forwardly open at one end for mattress entry into and exit from said guideway and extending from side to side of said body, a seat support unit shiftable fore and aft away from and toward said body to and from an extended bed position from and to a retracted seating position, said unit including adjacent its opposite sides hollow tubes extending fore and aft of said unit, forwardly extending rods telescopically engaging said tubes, said rods being fixed at their rear ends to said body, a mattress extending forwardly from the open end of said guideway overlying and at its forward end supported on said unit, mattress supporting means connected at its forward end to said unit and at its rearward end retractably connected to said body adjacent the forward open end of said guideway at the level of the lower surface of said mattress, said unit in extended bed position of said structure being spaced forwardly away from said body, with said mattress extended into fiat condition and said mattress supporting means drawn from said body and supportingly underlying the rearward part of said mattress in the space between said unit and said body, said unit in said seating position being positioned in close adjacency to said body with said rods telescoped in said tubes, the rearward part of said mattress being housed in said guideway.

References Cited in Ihe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Horsfall May 30, 1876 Wheatley Feb. 12, 1907 Millert Dec. 6, 1910 Zwolinski July 13, 1920 10 Kebbe Mar. 30, 1926 8 .Sto1tenb er g, July 23, 1929 McMillan Mar. 13, 1934 Jackson -2 Oct. 30, 1934 Hudon Oct. 3, 1939 Bonnet et a1 July 22, 1941 Rosen Sept. 18, 1951 Gordon et a1. Feb. 17, 1953 Firsel, Sept. 30, 1958 Davis et a1. Aug. 18, 1959 Luca Feb. 6, 1962 

